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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. march — the month
  4. pitch — completely
  5. bound — certain
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spell — letters
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. prune — to trim
  10. march — the month
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cap — of ice
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. march — music
  15. cap — a lid
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. spell — a short time
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. spell — magic
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bound — obliged
  24. pitch — a sports field

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com